Almost 5 years ago, Estelle & Magan met at a wedding — where M was the photographer and E was a bridesmaid for her best friend's big day. We talked about books for under five minutes, and a friendship was born.

Since then, we’ve shared our love of books, Zac Efron, and shopping on this blog, changed jobs, had babies, moved, visited DC and Disney World together, and constantly stayed connected -- despite the miles between us. RBR has been the our own version of a coffee date, our way to mark the time before we can hang out and gab in person again. Thanks for spending time with us. xoxo

Book Breakups: Audiobook Edition | wrapped up in books-[…] Magan at Rather Be Reading: “Ketchup Clouds held my attention as I fought to piece together the mystery of Zoe. While I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the secret in the end, I do feel it was a very age-appropriate reaction to the situation at hand and accurately depicted how I would have felt were I to swap places with Zoe. I really enjoyed that Pitcher chose such a unique way of sharing Zoe’s story, and was happy with (what I’d consider) the surprise I found waiting for me at the end of the book. I was taken a bit outside my element as I was subtly forced to think about a prisoner on Death Row, but equally captivated by the secret Zoe was so afraid to share. If you’re looking for something different that will offer you a unique reading experience, definitely take a chance on Ketchup Clouds.” […]

February 5, 2014 - 12:26 pm

laila mangs-this book is amazing I can’t wait for the end. Zoe and Aaron would make a good couple not Max and Zoe. thanks for listening. 🙂

February 5, 2014 - 12:23 pm

laila mangs-this book is sooooooo good. I really like it. I can’t wait to read the end.

November 4, 2013 - 4:11 pm

Alexa Y.-This book certainly sounds unique! I love the fact that it’s told through letters, and that it feels like there’s such an urgency to those letters. I’m interested in finding out Zoe’s secret, of course, but I’m also curious about Stuart. Great review M!

Lauren-I loved My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece and really wanted to read this (even though I really didn’t know much about it). Glad to hear you enjoyed it overall. I don’t normally like the letter method of revealing a story, but it sounds like it worked for the most part (death row killer’s last days hypothesizing aside). Definitely still excited to give this one a try. Lovely balanced review!

October 17, 2013 - 12:08 am

Bookworm1858-I love epistolary novels so I think this novel will really work for me. I like what I’ve heard about Pitcher’s writing in this book and My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece.

October 16, 2013 - 9:35 pm

Lauren @ Love is not a triangle-I didn’t really know anything about this book before your review, and it definitely intrigues me. The entire book is told in letter form, correct? And it sounds like she’s recounting the past, instead of telling this man about her current life? I can definitely understand the desire to share with a stranger. Wanting to tell SOMEONE, but someone that you don’t know, who won’t judge you. But it’s a very interesting choice to pick this inmate. I can see where the sections about him wouldn’t be as compelling if he’s unable to write back to her. I’m curious about the secret, and the form of the story is pretty fascinating, but the fact that this girl faces very YA problems, is less intriguing. Thanks so much for your review!

October 16, 2013 - 8:49 am

alice-jane-I’ve been wanting to read Ketchup Clouds ever since I first found out about it. I loved My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, Annabel PItcher’s previous work. I’m glad that Ketchup Clouds doesn’t disappoint. While Ketchup Clouds sounds like it does have its faults, I think I’m still going to pick it up.

Stay with Me by Paul Griffin Release Date: September 8, 2011 Pages: 304 Target Audience: Young Adult How I found out about it: It was on the new releases shelf at my local library. Format: Hardcover from the library. Summary: Cece and Mack are the two most unlikely fifteen-year-olds to fall in love; Cece is a motivated, brilliant […]

Burning Blue by Paul Griffin-[…] I very much enjoyed Griffin’s Stay With Me, I felt he tapped into something completely unique, dark, and suspenseful with Burning Blue. I […]

August 3, 2012 - 6:39 am

VeganYANerds-I’ve always wondered about this book because it’s so animal focused so I was really pleased to find you’d read, reviewed it and enjoyed it! I really like the comparison between Mack’s life as well as the dogs he rescues 😉

August 1, 2012 - 7:33 pm

Melissa Walker-I just read this one too, and I LOVED it! I thought Paul was so brave to really go there with what happened… ack! It tore me up, and felt really emotionally on-point. Glad you liked it too!

August 1, 2012 - 3:44 pm

Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books-You are killing me here, just like Elena, and I want to know what Mack did! The curiosity may just get to me and I may have to borrow this book from the library!

August 1, 2012 - 3:41 pm

Beatriz @ AWWIP-This book sounds lovely… the premise of something as “simple” as two teenagers falling in love and dealing with these issues is very alluring! 😀 Great review!

August 1, 2012 - 1:56 pm

elena-I’ve seen this book before and now the burning curiosity of what Mack did comes back to me. I want to knowwwww. May or may not been like, “TELL ME WHAT HAPPENS!” and then I saw, “I can’t tell you what happens. I just can’t.” Maybe my curiosity will lead me to actually read the book.

Unforgettable by Loretta Ellsworth Release Date: September 27, 2011 Pages: 256 Target Audience: Young Adult Format: Hardcover borrowed from the library. Why I read this book: It was on the new releases table at my library. Summary: After Baxter’s mom’s ex-boyfriend is released from prison early, he and his mom move two thousand miles away to start […]

Oh, excellent rec. We discussed a condition similar to that in my Child Development class last semester – without the flash forwards, of course. That’s certainly an interesting premise. And I’m a sucker for beautiful writing! That is probably the fastest way to get me to read something is to tell me that, haha.

January 4, 2012 - 11:03 pm

Magan-I’ve got it! No worries! Thanks so much for the comments, Sharon! If you enjoy books about memory, you should also consider checking out Forgotten by Cat Patrick. It was one of my ABSOLUTE favorite books from last year. So beautifully written. I have a friend reading it right now and she texts me to let me know where she is and gives me status reports. I think you’d love it, too!

Weird coincidence about Dink. Maybe if you read Unforgettable, you can think of him as something other than Dink so as not to defame your Grandmother? 😉

January 4, 2012 - 11:00 pm

Sharon @ Fictionally Inclined-Um. That was odd. Sorry about the duplicate comment! It told me it didn’t post and to retry, so I did. And now not only did I double-comment, but the second one was…well, that. I can’t figure out a way to delete it. Bah, technology savviness, why must you elude me when I need you?

January 4, 2012 - 10:51 pm

Sharon @ Fictionally Inclined-Oh, excellent. I’ve always been fascinated by perfect photographic/eidetic memories. I just find the entire idea so intriguing. It’s one of the reasons I love the show Suits so much.

As for me, I think I would rather remember fragments than absolutely everything. There would be times when a photographic memory would come in handy, of course, but overall, I don’t think it would be worth it. It would drive me crazy. I still enjoy reading about it, though, and I will definitely be adding this to my TBR list!

Random extra bit of information: “Dink” was my grandmother’s nick-name, and I’ve never seen it anywhere else. It’s certainly odd to find it in a fictional middle-aged male criminal.